Word to the Wise
Friday, October 14, 2022 - Friday in the 28th Week in Ordinary Time
[Eph 1:11-14 and Luke 12:1-7]In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God's possession, to the praise of his glory. [Ephesians] "Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God. Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows." [Luke]
There's an old saying in Louisiana (my home state): "When you are up to your rear in alligators, it's hard to remember the initial objective was to drain the swamp!" In today's scripture, there are two efforts at encouragement, one of which addresses the concerns of the moment (the alligators). That one is the passage from the Gospel According to Luke. That gospel is addressed to a missionary community under persecution. God's providential care, exemplified in the image of the sparrows, embraces us down to the last feather (or hair on our heads)!
The vision of draining the swamp is set out in the Letter to the Ephesians. This letter seems addressed to more than the Church at Ephesus. It is broad in vision and speaks of the Church as a universal means of salvation in Christ. It is a "big picture" document, meant to inspire noble thoughts of God's universal providence. We, the baptized, are part of something very grand in scope!
The big picture and the local picture can have different impacts on our life of faith, but both are necessary. Each of us is part of a reality of faith that extends around all creation, but we live that faith in our local circumstances. Those circumstances can preoccupy us so that we lose sight of the grander purpose. The Letter to the Ephesians reminds us to remember the bigger project of draining the swamp even as we fight off those pesky alligators! AMEN